1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the use of workflows based on domains.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the growth of the Internet, the use of networks and other information technologies, Identity Systems have become more popular. In general, an Identity System provides for the creation, removal, editing and other managing of identity information stored in various types of data stores. The identity information pertains to users, groups, organizations and/or things. For each entry in the data store, a set of attributes are stored. For example, the attributes stored for a user may include a name, address, employee number, telephone number, email address, user ID and password. The Identity System can also manage access privileges that govern what an entity can view, create, modify or use in the Identity System. Often, this management of access privileges is based on one or more specific attributes, membership in a group and/or association with an organization.
Many organizations require pre-defined business methods in order to carry out various tasks. For example, to add a new user to the Identity System, a business method may require the telecommunications group to provide a telephone number, the Information Technology Group to provide an email address, the Human Resources Group to provide personal data, and, finally, approval from a manager. To implement such business methods with an Identity System, workflows have been implemented. In general, a workflow is a process that is implemented by the Identity System (or other system) and automates the business methods.
Some Identity System are used in association with web access management solutions or other system that can leverage the benefits of an Identity System. Some of these systems implement business processes that involve complex interactions between companies and their customers, suppliers, partners, and employees. For example, businesses interact constantly with their customers—often other businesses—to provide information on product specification and availability. Businesses also interact with vendors and suppliers in placing orders and obtaining payments. Businesses must also make a wide array of information and services available to their employee populations, generating further interactions. Thus, an Identity System used with a complex system as described above may store information about an organization, as well as its customers, suppliers, partners, and employees. Because customers, suppliers, partners, and employees are from different organizations that may have different business practices, it is possible that each one may want to use different business methods to carry out various tasks. For example, supplier A may have a first method for adding a new user, while supplier B has a second method. Thus, supplier A would need a different workflow than supplier B.
Because workflow procedures and processes change from organization to organization, there is no one fixed procedure that can satisfy every entities' needs. Therefore, there is a need to associate different workflows definitions with different sets of entities.